Dragoon

dragoon
-noun
1. a member of any of several cavalry regiments in the British army.
2. historical: a mounted infantryman armed with a carbine.
-verb [ with obj. ]
3. coerce (someone) into doing something: she had been dragooned into helping with the housework.

ORIGIN early 17th cent. (denoting a kind of carbine or musket, thought of as breathing fire): from French dragon ‘dragon’.

August

august
-adjective
1. inspiring reverence or admiration; of supreme dignity or grandeur; majestic: an august performance of a religious drama.  
2. venerable; eminent: an august personage.

ORIGIN 1655–65; < L augustus sacred, grand, akin to augēre to increase. 

Eidolon

 










eidolon |aɪˈdoʊ lən| (ahy-doh-luh n) 

-noun; plural ei·do·la [-luh], ei·do·lons.

1.a phantom; apparition.

2. an ideal.

 

ORIGIN 1820–30;  see idol

Ocular

ocular 

-adjective

1. of, pertaining to, or for the eyes: ocular movements.

2. of the nature of an eye: an ocular organ.

3. performed or perceived by the eye or eyesight.

-noun

4. Optics. eyepiece.

ORIGIN 1565–75;  < Latin oculāris,  equivalent to ocul ( us ) eye + -āris -ar

--Related forms

oc·u·lar·ly, adverb.

pre·oc·u·lar, adjective.

sub·oc·u·lar, adjective.

sub·oc·u·lar·ly, adverb.

su·per·oc·u·lar, adjective.

Mordant

mordant

-adjective

1. sharply caustic or sarcastic, as wit or a speaker; biting.

2. burning; corrosive.

3. having the property of fixing colors, as in dyeing.

-noun

4. a substance used in dyeing to fix the coloring matter, especially a metallic compound, as an oxide or hydroxide, that combines with the organic dye and forms an insoluble colored compound or lake in the fiber.

5. an adhesive substance for binding gold or silver leaf to a surface.

6. an acid or other corrosive substance used in etching to eat out the lines, areas, etc.

7. Music. mordent.

-verb (used with object)

8. to impregnate or treat with a mordant.

ORIGIN 1425–75; late Middle English > Middle French, present participle of mordre  to bite ≪ Latin mordēre.

Anodyne

anodyne |ˈanəˌdīn| (an-uh-DINE)
-adjective
not likely to provoke dissent or offense; uncontentious or inoffensive, often deliberately so : anodyne new age music | I attempted to keep the conversation as anodyne as possible.
-noun
a pain-killing drug or medicine.
• figurative. something that alleviates a person's mental distress : "the husband's dull agony and wild bewilderment, his poor, clumsy tries at finding an anodyne in little lively ladies" - Constant Reader

ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: via Latin from Greek anōdunos ‘painless,’ from an- ‘without’ + odunē ‘pain.’

Muzzy

muzzy
-adjective
1 unable to think clearly; confused : she was shivering and her head felt muzzy from sleep.
• not clearly-thought-out; vague : society's muzzy notion of tolerance.
2 (of a person's eyes or a visual image) blurred : a slightly muzzy picture.
• (of a sound) indistinct : the bass and drums are, even on CD, appallingly muzzy.

[ORIGIN early 18th cent.: of unknown origin.]

Repine

repine
-verb poetic/literary
feel or express discontent; fret : you mustn't let yourself repine.

[ORIGIN early 16th cent.: from re- [again] + the verb pine 2 , on the pattern of repent.]

Ventrifact

ventrifact
-noun
a rock that has been abraded, pitted, etched, grooved, or polished by wind-driven sand or ice crystals.

Minacious

minacious
-adjective rare
menacing; threatening.

[ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: from Latin minax, minac- ‘threatening’ (from minari ‘threaten’ ) + -ous .]

minatory
-adjective formal
expressing or conveying a threat.

[ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from late Latin minatorius, from minat- ‘threatened,’ from the verb minari.]

Rugose

rugose
-adjective chiefly Biology
wrinkled; corrugated : rugose corals.

DERIVATIVES
rugosity |roōˈgäsətē| noun
ORIGIN late Middle English : from Latin rugosus, from ruga ‘wrinkle.’

Trochiline

trochiline |TROH-kih-leen|
-adjective rare
of or like a hummingbird.

Pavonine

pavonine
-adjective poetic/literary rare
of or like a peacock.

[ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: from Latin pavoninus, from pavo, pavon- ‘peacock.’]

Tintinnabulation

tintinnabulation
-noun
a ringing or tinkling sound.

[ORIGIN mid 19th cent.: from Latin tintinnabulum ‘tinkling bell’ (from tintinnare, reduplication of tinnire ‘to ring, tinkle’ ) + -ation .]

Vitreous

vitreous
-adjective
like glass in appearance or physical properties.
• (of a substance) derived from or containing glass : the toilet and bidet are made of vitreous china.

[ORIGIN late Middle English : from Latin vitreus (from vitrum ‘glass’ ) + -ous .]

Lacuna

lacuna |ləˈk(y)oōnə| ( pl. -nae or -nas )
noun
1. an unfilled space or interval; a gap.
2. a missing portion in a book or manuscript.
3. (anatomy) a cavity or depression, esp. in bone.

[ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: from Latin, ‘pool,’ from lacus ‘lake.’]

Noetic

noetic
-adjective
of or relating to mental activity or the intellect.

[ORIGIN mid 17th cent.: from Greek noētikos, from noētos ‘intellectual,’ from noein ‘perceive.’]

Tenebrific

tenebrific
–adjective

serving to obscure or darken; gloomy; dark; producing darkness.

[ORIGIN: 1640–50 from Latin tenebr(ae), darkness, + -i- + -fic]

Diaphanous

diaphanous /dīˈafənəs/
-adjective
(esp. of fabric) light, delicate, and translucent.

[ORIGIN early 17th cent.: from medieval Latin diaphanus, from Greek diaphanēs, from dia ‘through’ + phainein ‘to show.’]

Transpontine

transpontine /trøn(t)ˌspɑnˈtaɪn/
-adjective (dated)
1. on or from the other side of an ocean, in particular the Atlantic.
2. on or from the other side of a bridge.

[ORIGIN: late 19th cent.: from trans- [across] + Latin pontus ‘sea’ + -ine]

Natant

na·tant /ˈneɪtnt/ [neyt-nt]
–adjective
1. swimming; floating.
2. Botany. floating on water, as the leaf of an aquatic plant.

[Origin: 1700–10; < L natant- (s. of natāns), prp. of natāre to swim; see -ant]

—Related forms
na·tant·ly, adverb

Littoral

littoral \LIH-tuh-rul\
adjective:
1. Of, relating to, or on a coastal or shore region, especially a seashore.
noun:
1. A coastal region, especially the zone between the limits of high and low tides.

Triturate

trit·u·rate (trĭch'ə-rāt') [v. trich-uh-reyt; n. trich-er-it]
tr.v. trit·u·rat·ed, trit·u·rat·ing, trit·u·rates
To rub, crush, grind, or pound into fine particles or a powder; pulverize.
n. (-ər-ĭt)
A triturated substance, especially a powdered drug.

Umbra

um·bra /ˈʌmbrə/ [uhm-bruh]
–noun, plural -bras, -brae /-bri/ [-bree]
1. shade; shadow.
2. the invariable or characteristic accompaniment or companion of a person or thing.
3. Astronomy.
a. the complete or perfect shadow of an opaque body, as a planet, where the direct light from the source of illumination is completely cut off. Compare penumbra (def. 1a).
b. the dark central portion of a sunspot. Compare penumbra (def. 1b).
4. a phantom or shadowy apparition, as of someone or something not physically present; ghost; spectral image.

Peripeteia

per·i·pe·tei·a /ˌpɛrəpɪˈtaɪə, -ˈtiə/ [per-uh-pi-tahy-uh, -tee-uh]
–noun
a sudden turn of events or an unexpected reversal, esp. in a literary work.

an·ag·no·ri·sis /ˌænægˈnɔrəsɪs, -ˈnoʊr-/ [an-ag-nawr-uh-sis, -nohr-]
–noun, plural -ses /-ˌsiz/ [-seez]
(in ancient Greek tragedy) the critical moment of recognition or discovery, esp. preceding peripeteia.